1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a recording equipment travel cart for the convenient transportation and setup of equipment used in audio and video recording, and more particularly, to a compact travel cart that conveniently and safely transports rack-mounted video deposition equipment such as camcorders, cassette players, audio mixers, monitors, cables, and microphones to recording sites and reduces the time needed to setting up and breaking down the equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Video and audio taping of noteworthy events, such as, trials, depositions, political gatherings, interviews, weddings, and other family related events, has become increasingly popular as technical advances have been made in compact state of the art recording equipment. The legal community, especially, has increased their use of video and audio recording equipment in covering legal depositions and witness interviews to preserve and enhance testimony in the event a witness becomes unavailable for trial, unwilling to testify or untrustworthy so as to require impeachment.
Despite the vast technological improvements in recording equipment, transporting, setting up and breaking down the components remains complicated, inconvenient, and time consuming. The equipment typically interfaced in video recorded depositions includes a power strip, camcorders, cassette players, audio mixers, LCD monitors and microphones. To make the necessary connections between this equipment usually requires approximately several hundred feet of cable, which, of course, ends up appearing "spaghetti-like", confusing and hazardous.
On the average, it takes from thirty minutes to one hour to unload, transport, and set up the equipment and often necessitates the assistance of support technicians. These same connections are typically repeated several times a day and require that, personnel race between jobs to afford ample time to prepare for recording, to maximize the available hours in a day and to be prompt for scheduled appointments, trials, and depositions. Consequently, components get damaged while loading, transporting and carrying the equipment. Therefore, not only is money lost in the time spent preparing the equipment to record and in hiring technicians, but it also becomes expensive to replace and repair damaged components. Accordingly, a recording equipment travel cart that houses components in a way that reduces the requisite number of cable connections, protects the components from damage, organizes the cables, makes transporting easier and abrogates the need for trained technician assistance would be well received.
Although there exist several video systems which include travel carts or cabinets, none of the systems noted in the background art addresses nor solves the problems noted by the instant invention. Jorgensen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,340, discloses an audio/video electronic component cabinet that has a chimney formed along its back wall between the shelves to exhaust and vent hot air from the components in an attempt to keep the equipment cool. Although the Jorgensen cabinet stores electronic components, it is not designed for convenient travel and setup. Rather, it is a stationary unit for use in a single location. Bartlett, U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,881, discloses a transportable video apparatus for use outdoors, which includes a cart for protecting the components of the video system from rain, snow, or other environmental conditions. The Bartlett apparatus comprises a single cabinet having a front door, wheels, foldable handle, a video monitor, a video tube, and a hood. The cart provides weatherproof protection to the system components and provides a video tube and hood for blocking out sunlight so that the video monitor may be viewed in bright sunlight without substantial loss of the viewed image. Bartlett concentrates on making outdoor video viewing more practical, but does not provide a cart that is easily transportable, protects components during transportation, organizes hundreds of feet of cable and alleviates complications associated with connecting components. Likewise, Petersen, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,513, discloses a compact video system comprising a two-tier collapsible cart that houses video system components for use outdoors. The Petersen video system comprises a lower housing supporting an upper housing by adjustable and collapsible arms, whereby the upper compartment is pivotally mounted on the lower housing. When the upper housing is collapsed against the lower housing, a brake is actuated to lock the wheels to prevent easy removal of the cart and theft of components housed in the lower housing. The video system also includes a video monitor and lid which covers the monitor when closed. Again, Peterson fails to address the problems associated with interfacing modern recording components, organizing and connecting complex arrays of cable, transporting numerous pieces of equipment and protecting expensive components from damage.
In contrast with the present invention, none of the foregoing devices envisions a travel cart convenient for safely storing and transporting expensive, modern video components in an efficient manner so as to reduce the likelihood of damage and the time necessary for setting up the video system for recording legal depositions, witness interviews, trials, and other events. Therefore, there remains a need for a cart that is capable of housing expensive video components in a compact, preconnected manner that alleviates the inconvenience associated with making video and audio component connections, running lengthy cables, and transporting numerous pieces of expensive video equipment, and which provides a compact cart that protects the components against damage. The instant invention resolves the above-noted problems by providing a detachable three-compartment cart having a retractable handle, lockable wheels, protective shell housing, securing straps, interior foam cushion, rack-mounting hardware for prearranging and connecting components, and retractable cable-spools all contained in one travel cart for easy setup, breakdown, storage, and transportation between locations.